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That’s all you can say about the direction the NHL lockout has been going in and continues to go, as the lockout drags on with Gary Bettman now suggesting that the league and the NHLPA take two weeks off before resuming talks — in the middle of a lockout.

The players seem fed up, perhaps none more so than Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ian White. And while some players may be more upset with the situation than White, no one has been this outspokenly critical of Bettman up to this point.

“I got to be honest, I personally think [Bettman is] an idiot,” White told MLive.com. “Since he’s come in I think he’s done nothing but damage the game. If you think of all the moves he’s made, the teams that are all struggling seem to be the teams he put in places where there’s [less support for hockey].”

White didn’t stop there in the criticism of the man who has overseen three lockouts in his two decades as commish.

“I don’t know if he’s in control of the owners or what he’s saying,” White told MLive.com. “I think it’s [eight] of the owners have to agree to have something passed. You’d think it would be at least 50 percent. It just doesn’t seem like they’re running a democratic process.”

There are three main reasons the NHL is not doing well. Number one is there are too many teams who have diluted the talent.We have good high school hockey players now playing in the NHL.The league should cut six underperforming teams and bring up the quality of the game.Secondly, the way the rules are enforced and penalties called are slowing down the game. Fans want to see speed and clutching and grabbing and holding are the norm. Third is Bettman's intent to remove fighting as if fighting is the violence in the game. Bettman just doesn't know hockey. When are fans on their feet? When speed happens and when goals are scored and when players fight. Bettman is slowing the game down, reducing scoring and eliminating fighting so fans are watching Gilligans Island instead of hockey. It is dumb.

To my mind the idiot may well be the person who led the NHLPA down the road that they are on now. No games, no money, no future. The NHL is iln danger of dropping to fifth among the major professional sports leagues. The greedy players have overestimated their value not only to the owners but to the hockey fans. No NHL, no problem with highly competitive NCAA hockey and a host of minor league teams to chose from, who misses the NHL.